Henry iiipkins



FWLWAYS, SURFACE TRACK iii;

(No Model.) I

H. HIPKINS.

SLEEPER.

No. 896,160. Patented Jan. 15. 1889.

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I {i 412 A N. FCTERS PvwwLimo n n v. Washington. 0464 UNITED STATES PAT-ENTNQF1 SLEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 396,160, dated January 15, 88

Application filed May 29, 1888. Serial No. 275,488.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it'known that I, HENRY HIPKINS, of Belvue Hotel, Congreve Street, Birmingham, in the county of \Varwick, England, boilermanufacturer, and a subject of the Queen of Great; Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sleepers, (the same hay'ing been mtentcd in England February 523, 1888, by Letters Patent No. 2,716,) and I do hereby declare that the following is a sufficient description of the invent-ion to enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to carry the same into practical effect.

My invention has for its object improvements in sleepers which are specially applicable for light railways or tramways-such, for instance, as colliery work-where the speed is slow and horse-power is generally used; but the principle would be the same for heavier traflic.

I make my sleepers from a sheet or strip of metal-say stool, wrought-iron, or other wrought metat-aml i press it in molds so as to have its edges turned down, and, when necessary, its back curved over or corrugated lougitmlinally. .\t (":V'll cud I provide hook clips or jaws for the rail by pressing upward two cars or projecting lips out of the solid metal in such a manner tliattlic rail will slide in under the lips, or the sleepers arethreaded upon the rails. 'lhcse lips or jaws are strengthened by corrugations or brackets, also pressed up out-of the hollow at the back of each jaw, which greatly still'eus thcm. A center strip is left, upon which the rail rests, as well as upon the metal at tfill'll side of the sleeper. I thus dispense with all rivets or loose parts, and obtain a cheap slot-per at a minimum cost.

in order that my invention may be clearly understood and more casilycarricd into praclica-l olicct.l have uppcndcd hereunto a sheet of drawings, upon which i have shown live figures, which illustrate the same in several forms, which will enable others to adapt the principle to the varying conditions met with in practicc--sucli, for instance, as sandy or stony ballast, or for r;'iii\\'.-iys, tramways, or colliery purposes.

Figure Ii is a side elevation of a sleeper, E, showing the end of each rail (1- and C in position. Fig. 2. is a plan of the sleeper E with- (No model.) Patented in England February 23, 1888, No. 2,716.

out the rails C and G, in order that the strip a may be more clearly seen. Fig. 3 is an actual section of the sleeper. through A B, showing thebent edges e and e and the single center corrugation, a. Fig. 4 is a similar section to the previous figure,but shows how two corrugations, e and 6, may be made instead of one, and it will be well understood that more than two corrugations may be. easily made with suitable tools. Fig. 5 shows one end of a sleeper only-i. 6., with the center part out out-as metal may thus be sometimes saved-that is, by using only occasionally a long sleeper, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2, and also sometimes the pieces, Fig. 5, may be fastened to wood sleepers by the holes a, or a tie bar or strip of metal maybe used to connect the two for the purpose of maintaining an accurate gage.

These sleepers are made from one piece of metal, the jaws e e, e and a being stamped out and raised from the plate in a suitable press, hydraulic or otherwise. \Vhen these jaws are so rat' se 1, a cross-slip, e, is left to connect the twosides of the sleeper for stability and bearing for the base of the rail, and this strip may be hollowed or corrugated lengthwiseto stiffen itto prevent any buckling when ahammer is used to knock it on or off the rail. The strip may be of any width to suit the design of the rail. The ribs 6 are raised for the purpose of stidening the-jaws e e" e e, and there. may be one, two, or more of them, according to design and the number of corrugations in the sleeper. 'lhese ribs may be used to strengthen the jaws without the crossstrip e, as that may in some cases be dispensed with, and likewise the cross-strip 2' may sometimes be used with jaws without ribs. The ends e 6" may also be turned down to hold the ballast when required, and

in the case of Fig. 5 all the edges may be turned down. It will thus be seen that there are gaps K in the sleeper under the rail, which remain from pressing up the jaws; but these arecovered by the rail, which takes its bearing upon the two outer edgesof the sleeper, whether short or long.

I prefer making the sleepers from soft steel; but of course other suitable metal capable of being worked may be used.

What I claim, then, is-

A metallic sleeper in one piece, provided near its ends with pairs of raised jaws for holding the rails and ribs 6 for bracing said jaws, said sleeper also having a raised rih, 6 extending lengthwise of said jmvas far as the inner ends of said ribs e, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I :tflix my name in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY TII'PKINS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE PRICE, GEORGE BARKER. 

